Danny Parkins' Blog.

Danny Parkins is the host of the “The Drive with Danny Parkins” heard weekday from 2-6p on 610 Sports Radio.

Danny Parkins: Back To Football

by Danny Parkins,posted Sep 8 2011 9:52AM

I gotta give the NFL credit, it’s a catchy slogan. Back to Football. You’re damn right we’re back to football. And I’m excited. And judging from the amount of feedback on the show and social media, I’m not alone. That isn’t surprising in the least. Football has been king for a while now and the perception was that we lost something during the lockout. Other than the residents of Canton, Ohio who missed attending the Hall of Fame game, no one missed a thing.

But perception is a powerful sixth sense and there’s no question people are ready for Saints and Packers tonight. My guess is the game will set or come close to setting the record for the highest rated season opener in league history. Cash registers are going ca-ching for anyone involved in the business of football from Roger Goodell and network executives on down. Football is back and life is good.

Unless you’re Bud Selig....

I’ve got a feeling business is about to become very bad for MLB. Can you remember a baseball season that has had this little fanfare this late in the season? There are a couple of reasons for this.

One, there was no buzz around the trade deadline which normally regenerates interest in the dog days of summer. This year the trade deadline was completely, and justifiably, overshadowed by the condensed post – lockout free agent frenzy in the NFL.

The second reason, and the one that will do more damage, is look at the standings. Atlanta leads the wildcard race in the National League by 6.5 games and Boston leads the AL race by 7. Three games separate the decidedly uninteresting Rangers and Angels in the AL West, and besides that, there are no other division races to speak of.

The playoffs are going to come out of nowhere in baseball this season. That’s generally a recipe for low interest and lower ratings. We’ll be missing out because we’re staring at some potentially great playoff matchups. Atlanta versus Milwaukee in the 1st round should be NLCS caliber. And as much as we complain about it in the regular season, a Yankees v Red Sox ALCS would be enjoyable.

I’m just not sure the masses will care. I certainly don’t think they will like they used to. We’ve become a football crazed society that decided we couldn’t live without something that was never truly lost. But kudos to whomever it was in the NFL marketing department that came up with the slogan… They’re absolutely right. I’m thrilled to be back to football.

Football eclipsed baseball a LONG time ago and it's not ever gonig to change, at least not until baseball figures it out - that socialism actually does work in professional sports (and in few other areas). Baseball is a joke, an afterthought whenever football season arrives. Pre-season football games generate more interest than pennant-races. Pretty pathetic for baseball.